A new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) took over the reins at University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust today (June 1 2022), with Dr George Findlay returning to the Trust he left just over a year ago.
UHSussex has hospitals in Brighton, Chichester, Haywards Heath and Worthing, and Dr Findlay joined the trust formerly known as Western Sussex Hospitals in 2014.
He worked alongside former CEO Dame Marianne Griffiths to implement an improvement programme that led to the Trust becoming the first in the country to be rated Outstanding by the Care Quality Commission.
The same leadership team then took on responsibility for what was Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals, using the same improvement programme to make that the fastest improving trust in the country.
When the pandemic hit, Dr Findlay became a regular guest on radio and TV, explaining the virus and its impact to people across Sussex. Dr Findlay was also still in his role as Chief Medical Officer when the two legacy trusts merged on 1 April 2021 to create UHSussex.
He left to become interim CEO at Medway Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust in May 2021.
Returning to UHSussex, Dr Findlay said: “It’s an enormous honour to be back in Sussex leading our hospitals. The pandemic has taken its toll on health services, but our people have never stopped making sure patient care is their top priority.
“As we continue to recover from the worst of the pandemic, we’re focussed on improving patient flow through our hospitals, clearing our backlog of patients waiting for treatment and doing all we can to make sure every patient gets the best possible experience.”
Dr Findlay replaces Dr Andy Heeps who had taken over from Dame Marianne, on an interim basis, when she retired in April this year.